Weekly News Brief 1/22/25

Featured Stories

Iran Builds a Digital “Berlin Wall” as Regime Seals Off Nation From the World

Iran’s Islamic regime has effectively erected a modern-day Berlin Wall — not of concrete and barbed wire, but of cables, servers, and state-controlled silence — as it plunges the country into a near-total internet blackout to crush nationwide protests and shield its violence from global scrutiny.

Iran Closes Airspace, U.S. Repositions Forces as Trump Weighs Response to Deadly Crackdown – Jan.15.2026

Turkey Moves Toward Joining Saudi–Pakistan Defense Pact, Raising Fears of New Regional Military Bloc – Jan.12.2026

Breaking World News

Trump Calls Off Tariffs Over Greenland After Deal With NATO Leader

President Donald Trump called off tariffs on U.S. allies opposed to his plans to annex Greenland after announcing a tentative deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for a future deal on Greenland.

Trump Seeks Negotiations to Acquire Greenland, Rules Out Use of Force at Davos

President Donald Trump said the United States is pursuing negotiations to acquire Greenland while ruling out the use of military force, framing the controversial proposal as a necessary security measure rather than an economic or mineral-driven ambition.

Gold Hits Record High As Trump Says Europe ‘Not Heading In Right Direction’

Gold prices surged to a record high on Wednesday as investors sought safety the deepest crisis in the transatlantic alliance in decades with U.S. President Donald J. Trump saying Europe “is not heading in the right direction.”

Russia’s Massive Winter Assault Plunges Kyiv Into Darkness; Civilians Endure Subzero Conditions

Wilders Faces Historic Setback As Seven Lawmakers Quit PVV In Major Party Split

Trump Seeks “Decisive” Options on Iran as U.S. Military Buildup Accelerates

ISIS Detainee Camp Abandoned as Syrian Army, Kurdish Forces Agree to New Ceasefire

Greenland Warns Of Possible Invasion As Trump Revives Takeover Threats

Spanish Train Derails Near Barcelona As Safety Concerns Mount After Deadly Rail Crashes

Scores Killed In Pakistan’s Shopping Mall Fire (VIDEO)

Danish Troops In Greenland After Trump Threatens To Annex It

Deadly Summer Storms Batter Australia’s East Coast

Breaking Israel News

Arab Nations Join Trump Peace Board, but Israel Remains Wary of Gaza Promises

Eight prominent Muslim-majority countries announced their decision this week to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace, a move framed by its supporters as a step toward stability — but viewed in Israel with deep skepticism given past regional failures in Gaza.

Netanyahu Accepts Trump’s Invitation to Join ‘Board of Peace’ as Europe Pushes Back

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to join the newly proposed Board of Peace, his office confirmed Wednesday, as a growing number of European governments signaled they will not participate in the initiative.

U.S.–Israel Launch AI Partnership in Jerusalem

The United States and Israel signed a landmark joint statement on Friday launching a strategic partnership in artificial intelligence, research, and critical technologies under the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative, underscoring a shared vision that economic cooperation can outweigh ideological divides.

Israel Demolishes Former UNRWA Headquarters in Jerusalem After Knesset Ban

Netanyahu Vows No Turkish or Qatari Troops in Gaza, Admits Dispute With U.S. Over Postwar Plan

Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace” Offers $1 Billion Permanent Seats to World Leaders

Hungary’s Orbán Invited To Trump-Backed Board Of Peace For Gaza

Israel Pushes Back on Trump Administration’s Gaza Executive Board as Ceasefire Enters Phase Two

Son of Shah: ‘Iran Will Recognize Israel’ After Ouster Islamic Rulers; Death Toll Protests Passes 2,500 (VIDEO)

Earthquake Rocks Southern Israel

Witkoff Announces Phase II of Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan, Shifts Focus to Demilitarization and Governance

Breaking U.S. News

Support For Religious Freedom Up 5 Points From 2020, Reaching A High Of 71

Support for religious freedom grew five points from 2020 to 2025, reaching an all-time cumulative high of 71 points, according to Becket’s seventh annual Religious Freedom Index.

Trump Marks One Year In Office With Combative Press Conference

U.S. President Donald J. Trump marked one year since returning to the White House with a wide-ranging and often confrontational press conference, defending his record while renewing criticism of political opponents, major media outlets, and several U.S. allies.

Entitlement Fraud Costs Taxpayers Billions … Or Trillions, Dwarfing Minnesota

Since 2020, fraudsters have scammed at least $36 billion and as much as $3 trillion in tax money from federal entitlement programs, dwarfing the amount federal prosecutors claim was stolen in Minnesota’s federal food aid scandal known as Feeding Our Future, an investigation by The Center Square found.

House To Vote On Last Four Govt. Funding Bills Costing $1.2 Trillion

Mail-Order Abortion Pills Drive Post-Dobbs Surge, Pro-Life Leaders Warn

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Second Amendment Case Tuesday

St. Paul Church Congregant Says ‘We Were Surrounded’

Minnesota Judge Limits ICE Protest Enforcement as Church Disruption Sparks Federal Investigation

Q1 Border Crossings Plummet 95% From Biden Era, Lowest In History

Senate Takes Recess, Leaving Only Five Days To Pass Six Govt Funding Bills

Trump Warns He May Invoke Insurrection Act as Minnesota Protests Turn Violent, ICE Officers Attacked

Hegseth Unveils Pentagon AI Acceleration Push at SpaceX, Vows to Tear Down Bureaucratic Barriers

Breaking Christian News

Over 170 Christian Worshippers Kidnapped From Churches In Nigeria After Police Reversal

Nigerian police have confirmed that a large group of Christian worshippers were kidnapped by suspected Muslim gunmen from three churches in a remote area of Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State, reversing an earlier denial that authorities said had been “widely misinterpreted.”

Foreign Missionary Era Ending In Turkey As Authorities Detain, Deport Christians

The era of foreign missionaries in Turkey is drawing to a close as authorities increasingly detain, deport, or bar Christian workers from reentering the Muslim-majority nation, according to church leaders and human-rights advocates.

Record 388 Million Christians Face Persecution Worldwide, Open Doors Says

Egypt Jails Christian YouTuber for Defending Christianity

Wife And Daughter Of Slain Anglican Priest Freed as Nigerian Church Abductions Mount

Iran’s Islamic Rulers Jail Christians as Protests Kill Thousands

Protestant Pastor Freed After Six Months in Nicaraguan Detention

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